Retrieval of aerosol optical thickness for desert conditions using MERIS observations during the SAMUM campaign

Approximately 30% of the land surface is arid, having desert or semi-desert conditions. Aerosol originating from these regions plays a significant role in climate and atmospheric chemistry of the atmosphere. Retrieving aerosol properties from space-borne platforms above desert conditions, where the surface reflectance is usually very bright, is a challenging task. The proportion of the surface to top of atmosphere (TOA) reflectance can reach values over 90%, especially for wavelength above 500 nm. For these reasons detailed knowledge of aerosol and surface optical properties from these regions is required to separate atmosphere from intrinsically bright surfaces.
An approach to retrieve aerosol properties over arid and semi-arid regions based on the Bremen Aerosol Retrieval (BAER) has been developed and validated within the Dust Aerosol Retrievals from Space-Born Instruments (DREAMS) Project, which is part of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment ( SAMUM, 2006 ). Combining measurements of the backscattered radiation from the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument aboard Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) and ground-based measurements in Morocco in radiation closure experiments yields the aerosol optical properties of mineral dust at selected locations.     

Spectral absorption coefficients and imaginary parts of refractive indices of Saharan dust during SAMUM-1

During the SAMUM-1 experiment, absorption coefficients and imaginary parts of refractive indices of mineral dust particles were investigated in southern Morocco. Main absorbing constituents of airborne samples were identified to be iron oxide and soot. Spectral absorption coefficients were measured using a spectral optical absorption photometer (SOAP) in the wavelength range from 300 to 800 nm with a resolution of 50 nm. A new method that accounts for a loading-dependent correction of fibre filter based absorption photometers, was developed. The imaginary part of the refractive index was determined using Mie calculations from 350 to 800 nm. The spectral absorption coefficient allowed a separation between dust and soot absorption. A correlation analysis showed that the dust absorption coefficient is correlated ( R ² up to 0.55) with the particle number concentration for particle diameters larger than 0.5 μm, whereas the coefficient of determination R ² for smaller particles is below 0.1. Refractive indices were derived for both the total aerosol and a dust aerosol that was corrected for soot absorption. Average imaginary parts of refractive indices of the entire aerosol are 7.4 × 10⁻³, 3.4 × 10⁻³ and 2.0 × 10⁻³ at wavelengths of 450, 550 and 650 nm. After a correction for the soot absorption, imaginary parts of refractive indices are 5.1 × 10⁻³, 1.6 × 10⁻³ and 4.5 × 10⁻⁴.     

A molecular and isotopic study of the macromolecular organic matter of the ungrouped C2 WIS 91600 and its relationship to Tagish Lake and PCA 91008

Abstract– Insight into the chemical history of an ungrouped type 2 carbonaceous chondrite meteorite, Wisconsin Range (WIS) 91600, is gained through molecular analyses of insoluble organic matter (IOM) using solid‐state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, X‐ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (XANES), and pyrolysis‐gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (pyr‐GC/MS), and our previous bulk elemental and isotopic data. The IOM from WIS 91600 exhibits similarities in its abundance and bulk δ¹⁵N value with IOM from another ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite Tagish Lake, while it exhibits H/C, δ¹³C, and δD values that are more similar to IOM from the heated CM, Pecora Escarpment (PCA) 91008. The ¹³C NMR spectra of IOM of WIS 91600 and Tagish Lake are similar, except for a greater abundance of CH_xO species in the latter and sharper carbonyl absorption in the former. Unusual cross‐polarization (CP) dynamics is observed for WIS 91600 that indicate the presence of two physically distinct organic domains, in which the degrees of aromatic condensation are distinctly different. The presence of two different organic domains in WIS 91600 is consistent with its brecciated nature. The formation of more condensed aromatics is the likely result of short duration thermal excursions during impacts. The fact that both WIS 91600 and PCA 91008 were subjected to short duration heating that is distinct from the thermal history of type 3 chondrites is confirmed by Carbon‐XANES. Finally, after being briefly heated (400 °C for 10 s), the pyrolysis behavior of Tagish Lake IOM is similar to that of WIS 91600 and PCA 91008. We conclude that WIS 91600 experienced very moderate, short duration heating at low temperatures (<500 °C) after an episode of aqueous alteration under conditions that were similar to those experienced by Tagish Lake.     

Bleached chondrules: Evidence for widespread aqueous processes on the parent asteroids of ordinary chondrites

Abstract— We present the first detailed study of a population of texturally distinct chondrules previously described by Kurat (1969), Christophe Michel‐Lévy (1976), and Skinner et al. (1989) that are sharply depleted in alkalis and Al in their outer portions. These “bleached” chondrules, which are exclusively radial pyroxene and cryptocrystalline in texture, have porous outer zones where mesostasis has been lost. Bleached chondrules are present in all type 3 ordinary chondrites and are present in lower abundances in types 4–6. They are most abundant in the L and LL groups, apparently less common in H chondrites, and absent in enstatite chondrites. We used x‐ray mapping and traditional electron microprobe techniques to characterize bleached chondrules in a cross section of ordinary chondrites. We studied bleached chondrules from Semarkona by ion microprobe for trace elements and H isotopes, and by transmission electron microscopy. Chondrule bleaching was the result of low‐temperature alteration by aqueous fluids flowing through finegrained chondrite matrix prior to thermal metamorphism. During aqueous alteration, interstitial glass dissolved and was partially replaced by phyllosilicates, troilite was altered to pentlandite, but pyroxene was completely unaffected. Calcium‐rich zones formed at the inner margins of the bleached zones, either as the result of the early stages of metamorphism or because of fluid‐chondrule reaction. The mineralogy of bleached chondrules is extremely sensitive to thermal metamorphism in type 3 ordinary chondrites, and bleached zones provide a favorable location for the growth of metamorphic minerals in higher petrologic types. The ubiquitous presence of bleached chondrules in ordinary chondrites implies that they all experienced aqueous alteration early in their asteroidal histories, but there is no relationship between the degree of alteration and metamorphic grade. A correlation between the oxidation state of chondrite groups and their degree of aqueous alteration is consistent with the source of water being either accreted ices or water released during oxidation of organic matter. Ordinary chondrites were probably open systems after accretion, and aqueous fluids may have carried volatile elements with them during dehydration. Individual radial pyroxene and cryptocrystalline chondrules were certainly open systems in all chondrites that experienced aqueous alteration leading to bleaching.     

Application of MELTS to kinetic evaporation models of FeO‐bearing silicate melts

Abstract— Incorporation of the MELTS silicate melt solution model into models of evaporation successfully reproduces the evaporation behavior of alkali‐free, FeO‐bearing (≥2 mol%) chondritic melts at temperatures between 1700 and 2000 °C. In conjunction with the Berman CMAS melt solution model for FeO‐poor melts, evaporation of alkali‐free melts can now be modeled over a very wide range of conditions. MELTS‐based evaporation models can also quite successfully reproduce the evaporation behavior of K when Al/(Na + K) > 1. However, reproduction of Na evaporation experiments is much poorer.     

RESISTIVITY ANALYSIS FOR MODELS OF A SPHERE IN A HALF-SPACE WITH BURIED CURRENT SOURCES*

Boundary-value problems in steady-state current flow were solved numerically in bispherical coordinates for a sphere of arbitrary conductivity in a half-space. Solutions for the potential on the surface of the half-space were examined for the cases where both current sources were on the surface, one source on the surface and the second between the surface and the sphere, and one source on the surface and the other in the sphere. Results show a great similarity with the layered case when the buried electrode is placed between the surface and the conducting region. Such a buried electrode configuration makes it possible to obtain an accurate measurement of the depth to the conductor in both cases. A model with the current electrode placed in a conductive sphere is compared with a three-layered model with the source in a conductive intermediate layer, and results indicate that the lateral extent of a finite anomalous zone can be estimated using these limiting curves. The validity of these theoretical calculations for buried spheres was confirmed experimentally by tests conducted on an analog model.     

The Skaergaard Layered Series, Part VII: Sr and Nd Isotopes

The initial isotopic ratios of strontium and neodymium in theSkaergaard Layered Series vary both vertically and laterally,on every scale from the intrusion as a whole down to coexistingminerals in a single rock. The magma that filled the Skaergaardchamber was contaminated to various degrees with the metamorphicrocks through which it rose and was never completely homogenizedafter being intruded. The contamination was most pronouncedin contact zones and aureoles around rare xenoliths. The greaterconcentrations of lithophile trace elements in the Upper BorderSeries was previously attributed to assimilation of buoyantfragments of gneiss that collected under the roof, but mostof the rocks of the Upper Border Series are isotopically indistinguishablefrom those of the Layered Series. It is doubtful, therefore,that this part of the intrusion assimilated much more of themetamorphic basement than did the rest of the magma. Similarly,the marked increase in the concentrations of excluded elementsin the upper part of the Layered Series is not matched by achange in the isotopic character of the rocks and cannot beattributed to a later influx of new magma. Analyses of mineralsseparated from rocks with exceptionally mafic or felsic modalcompositions revealed marked inhomogeneities in the isotopiccompositions of their constituent minerals. For example, coexistingplagioclase and pyroxene from closely associated anorthositesand pyroxenites have very different initial isotopic ratiosof both strontium and neodymium. The same is true of mafic andfelsic layers in modally graded gabbros. These differences areunrelated to the low-temperature alteration shown by oxygenisotopes. They must have been introduced when the original gabbrowas largely crystallized and underwent local metasomatic replacementby nearly mono-mineralic mafic and felsic assemblages. KEY WORDS: Nd isotopes; Skaergaard; Sr isotopes     

Elemental redistribution in Tieschitz and the origin of white matrix

Abstract— Two types of mesostasis coexist within some porphyritic chondrules in Tieschitz. One type is smooth. The other, confined to chondrule margins, is blocky on a 5–10 μm scale. Mesostases in one porphyritic olivine-pyroxene (POP) chondrule and one porphyritic olivine (PO) chondrule were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS), as was white matrix nearby. Mesostases in the PO chondrule and in four others were analysed by ion probe. Pyroxene phenocrysts or dendrites extend across contacts between smooth and blocky mesostasis with no compositional change. Relative to smooth mesostasis, blocky mesostasis is enriched in Al, alkalis, Ba, F, and Cl but depleted in Si, Fe, and Ca. White matrix fills channels between the chondrules. It is physically and chemically similar to blocky mesostasis, but three ion probe analyses indicate that, unlike the mesostases, it is poor in Sc and has variable and fractionated rare earth elements (REEs). Smooth mesostasis is interpreted as solidified primary chondrule liquid; whereas blocky mesostasis is its alteration product or, less likely, a precipitate replacing smooth mesostasis leached out by aqueous fluid. White matrix may have formed by secondary alteration or replacement of mesostases that had been expelled from chondrules during accretion, or as a precipitate filling interchondrule voids. Iron may have been lost from the bulk meteorite, but most other elements merely underwent internal redistribution. Disturbed isotopic systems indicate that aqueous fluid may have been active on the Tieschitz parent body only 2 Ga ago. If correct, this would be the first evidence that an ordinary chondrite parent body underwent internal reprocessing significantly later than 4.5 Ga ago.     

Large-scale structure of Calamus River deposits (Nebraska, USA) revealed using ground-penetrating radar

The large-scale (i.e. bar-scale) structure of channel deposits of the braided, low-sinuosity Calamus River, Nebraska, is described using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles combined with vibracores. Basal erosion surfaces are generally overlain by medium-scale, trough-cross-stratified (sets 3–25 cm thick), very coarse to medium sands, that are associated with relatively high amplitude, discontinuous GPR reflectors. Overlying deposits are bioturbated, small-scale cross-stratified (sets <3 cm thick) and vegetation-rich, fine to very-fine sands, that are associated with low-amplitude discontinuous reflectors. Near-surface peat and turf have no associated GPR reflectors. In along-stream profiles through braid and point bars, most GPR reflectors dip downstream at up to 2° relative to the basal erosion surface, but some reflectors in the upstream parts of bars are parallel to the basal erosion surface or dip upstream. In cross-stream profiles through bars, GPR reflectors are either approximately parallel to bar surfaces or have low-angle inclinations (up to 6°) towards cut banks of adjacent curved channels. Basal erosion surfaces become deeper towards cut banks of curved channels. These structures can be explained by lateral and downstream growth of bars combined with vertical accretion. Convex upwards forms up to 0·5 m high, several metres across and tens of metres long represent episodic accretion of unit bars (scroll bars and bar heads). Stratal patterns in channel fills record a complicated history of erosion and deposition during filling, including migration of relatively small bars. A revised facies model for this type of sandy, braided river has been constructed based on this new information on large-scale bedding structure.     

Tyatya Volcano, southwestern Kuril arc: Recent eruptive activity inferred from widespread tephra

Abstract Tyatya Volcano, situated in Kunashir Island at the southwestern end of Kuril Islands, is a large composite stratovolcano and one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuril arc. The volcanic edifice can be divided into the old and the young ones, which are composed of rocks of distinct magma types, low‐ and medium‐K series, respectively. The young volcano has a summit caldera with a central cone. Recent eruptions have occurred at the central cone and at the flank vents of the young volcano. We found several distal ash layers at the volcano and identified their ages and sources, that is, tephras of ad 1856, ad 1739, ad 1694 and ca 1 Ka derived from three volcanoes of Hokkaido, Japan, and caad 969 from Baitoushan Volcano of China/North Korea. These could provide good time markers to reveal the eruptive history of the central cone, which had continued intermittently with Strombolian eruptions and lava flow effusions since before 1 Ka. Relatively explosive eruptions have occurred three times at the cone during the past 1000 years. We revealed that, topographically, the youngest lava flows from the cone are covered not by the tephra of ad 1739 but by that of ad 1856. This evidence, together with a report of dense smoke rising from the summit in ad 1812, suggests that the latest major eruption with lava effusion from the central cone occurred in this year. In 1973, after a long period of dormancy, short‐lived phreatomagmatic eruptions began to occur from fissure vents at the northern flank of the young volcano. This was followed by large eruptions of Strombolian to sub‐Plinian types occurring from several craters at the southern flank. The 1973 activity is evaluated as Volcanic Explosivity Index = 4 (approximately 0.2 km³), the largest eruption during the 20th century in the southwestern Kuril arc. The rocks of the central cone are strongly porphyritic basalt and basaltic andesite, whereas the 1973 scoria is aphyric basalt, suggesting that magma feeding systems are definitely different between the summit and flank eruptions.